The catalogue structure

The catalogue is organized in alphabetical order. Its structure is entirely subordinated to the purpose of cataloguing and inventorying the vanishing material heritage of the Dutch colonists, who were subduing the wastelands and flood plains of Mazowsze, that is:
- rural settlements,
- homesteads,
- buildings - both residential and farming,
- churches,
- cemeteries.

Therefore, field research was the most essential component of the project. Its purpose was:
- to verify the range of the Dutch colonization, that is to identify and describe the villages included in this colonization,
- to catalogue all objects that to-date have not been included in the inventory,
- to verify the information regarding objects that have already been catalogued,
- to obtain up-to-date photographic and mensural documentation of the most valuable and representative objects.

The primary goal of the field research was to develop a database drawing on literature, preliminary archival research, as well as existing documentation. The database includes a list of all objects and basic information about them, which has been expanded and updated on an ongoing basis. It contains the object name, its administrative affiliation, historical site registration number (if relevant), a list of the restoration documentation, and information regarding the existing documentation card.

Furthermore, the author's goal was to compile basic information about the sites in the Mazowsze region. To date, this information has been scattered in the relevant literature and archival records. The author also researched publications pertaining to the subject of the Dutch colonization in Mazowsze and in Poland.

Successful completion of this catalogue in 2003 would not have been possible without funding from the Komitet Badań Naukowych, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, as well as the author's previous field surveys and involvement in the subject. Materials collected during surveys between 1995 and 2005, namely photographs, descriptions, and measurements of objects, were included in the catalogue.